Rich

Well? I'd still like to know where I've performed a similar act of kneejerk modding plus public bollocking. The 'do as I say not as I do' was an indirect quote-of-a-quote response to my original comment. You obviously have a beef with me, so let's hear it. Or is my culpability based on a "well I reckon you've probably done it, therefore you have" reasoning?

I don't. I'm always weird, not just sometimes.

Blimey. When did I pee on your fireworks, exactly?

The thing that annoyed me about it was that I hadn't even mentioned politics per se. All I said was something along the lines of "That piece of halibut was good enough for Jehovah" "I believe Tony Blair plays guitar", that was it. But apparently just mentioning the name was enough to get me told off like a naughty 6 year old. Ridiculous kneejerk reaction.

I got a thorough public bollocking on there once in a 'famous people who play musical instruments' thread for mentioning the words 'Tony Blair'. Was told in no uncertain terms that they have a no-politics rule and that I was never to do it ever again, 'do you understand?' I think I've been there maybe once or twice since. Oh brilliant. I must go there and post about my bitsa P bass, they'll love it. No-name body, Wilkinson pup, and a Squier Jazz neck with a Fender P decal. The only genuine Fender part is the neck plate. I'm gonna go troll me some yankees.

It seems to me that as a singing bassist, I'm fairly screwed. I get the impression that vented moulded plugs are pretty much the only way? Other than ear defenders which, errm, no. Up to now I've been reliant on, and happy with, my trusty old Etymotic ER20 plugs. They certainly do the trick attenuation-wise, but on the basis of what I've read above I'm thinking maybe they're not such a good idea for singing gigs..?

And I hope it's been a lesson to you. Next time someone says "the walls have ears", perhaps you won't try to prove them literally correct by hacking yours off and sticking them in your ice cream.

I hear ya. The dead circuit in my 1A has been replaced with an EMG 2-band and the result is, as you say, a lot easier and more flexible in operation. I've still got the series/parallel switch in place, but the redundant active/passive switch is now a simple kill switch. I'm pondering the idea of fitting a J bridge pickup...

Really? Blimey, I clicked on the 'join here' thingy and when I got to the bit that said "We will ask you for your contact details and some evidence to show that you are a professional musician" I figured that was that. Perhaps it's worth a punt after all! EDIT: have applied. Feck it. Nothing ventured, etc.

Another vote for Elixirs here.

From what I understand, it was found that faulty flux capacitors were delivering several jiggawatts of electric shock to anyone who attempted to play Stairway To Heaven on them.

I couldn't watch more than 20 seconds of that. Horrid, disgraceful waste. Unsafe my arrse. My opinion of Gibson, which was low to start with, has hit rockbottom and started to dig.

190+ miles for me... I love driving, but a 400 mile round trip is a bit much for a purely window-shopping trip

LOVE it. This is exactly the road I'd go down -- a YOB '65 Jazz looking stock at a glance but stuffed with hi tech bits. In car terms, somewhere between a restomod and a rat rod.

It's not that much of an OMG moment, but... back in 1986 the band I was in were rehearsing one Saturday afternoon at Angie's in Wokingham. We'd pretty much finished and were having a chat prior to packing up when a guy walked in at the back of the club. He was in shadows so I couldn't see his face. "Oh sorry", he said, "are you still playing? I can come back in a bit". We told him we were done and were about to pack up. He struck up a conversation, asked us what we were called etc., and being young and arrogant and convinced of our impending fame, we were a bit cheeky with some of our replies. He either didn't notice or wasn't bothered by it. After a few questions he says "Good stuff...", steps forward into the light to shake our hands, "my name's Herbie...". I mentally added the word 'Flowers' and my jaw did a clang. Turned out his jazz quartet were playing at Angie's that evening. After the greetings, he looked at us and reached into his pocket... "Well I dunno about you, but I'm skinning up...". Made one for us to pass round and one for himself, and my god it was good gear Thank god he turned up too late to hear me playing

Excellent potentially very useful. Now I know what I've been doing wrong for the last 30 years!

Mark King -- Jaydee (and to a lesser extent Status) basses

I like it. I need to fashion something similar for my V7.

I experimented with a homemade ramp on my Status S2, I liked it so much it stayed on there till I sold it (bottom pic). I made it from a piece of balsa wood clad in three different types of veneer, stuck to the bass with carpet tape. I think I did a half decent job of colour matching it! I had one built in to my Shuker bass (top pic). A much more sophisticated affair, height adjustable to match the pickups. I haven't got one on my Sire V7, and really miss it. I'm going to have to sort one out. I like the feel of it under my fingers.

If that was closer to home, I'd have it just for the bridge and the active guts.

There are many aspects that are a pain in the derrière, yes. But there were times during the last year when I wondered if I'd ever play again. Now thankfully I am, and I don't care how far the drive, how late the night, how tired the loadout -- I'm in two wonderful bands and loving every second of every gig, simply because I can.